The present invention relates to a decorative acoustical ceiling or wall surfacing fabric and more particularly to a fabric exhibiting a sculptured, highly textured and nubby architectural appearance and a process for making this fabric. The finished fabric is used as a ceiling board facing or a wall facing as such or applied to a solid or fiberous backing, for instance a bat or pad of glass fibers, for use in a ceiling or wall board.
There are several commercially available ceiling boards which utilize glass fabric as the decorative facing. Generally, however, the fabric covered board is spray painted in a separate operation to achieve the desired textured, three-dimensional, and nubby appearance. Ceiling board manufacturers have frequently expressed their need for a prefinished fabric which would exhibit and retain a three-dimensional, nubby appearance, and which requires only lamination to a base substrate to produce a salable ceiling board.
A foam-coated ceiling board facing is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,162,342 issued on July 24, 1979 to the present inventor in which a cellular foam-coated fabric is made by sculpturing a layer of vinyl or acrylic foam on one or both sides of a nubby textured fabric. The foam is applied and distributed over the entire surface of the fabric. While the products described in my earlier patent exhibit an enhanced degree of loft, texture, and nubbiness, in many applications a fabric with improved properties including resistance to soiling, ease of cleanability, and one which emits fewer and less toxic fumes when burned is desirable.
Fire safety has become a paramount concern following highly publicized fires during the early 1980s. As examples, 85 people died in the MGM Grand Hotel fire in Las Vegas, another 30 victims lost their lives in the Stouffer Hotel fire in Westchester, N.Y., 27 prisoners died in a Biloxi, Miss. jail fire, and 23 passengers perished in an Air Canada flight cabin fire.
Most of these deaths were not caused by the flames or heat from the fire, but rather from the inhalation of smoke and toxic fumes, often far away from the fire itself. While controversy continues as to precisely what fumes and gases were responsible for these deaths, no one can dispute that the less volume of smoke and fumes released in a fire, and the less toxic these fumes are, the greater the chance victims of a fire have for survival.
The products of the present invention are both flame-retardant and low-toxic and find uses in the lodging industry and for commercial and home use.
The preferred product of the present invention is a lox-toxic and highly flame-retardant ceiling board facing having not only an attractive architectural appearance, but also a high degree of whiteness and opacity. The product is less prone to soiling, is easier to clean than previous ceiling board facings, yet is resistant to fading and discoloration.